Healing Scars
by SkyGem
Summary: Sawada Tsunayoshi and his family moved away from Namimori when he was just seven-years-old. When he returns to his hometown seven years later, the brunet finds that his childhood friends have fallen apart without him. In working to heal the scars his friends have gathered over the years, Tsuna finds that his own are also starting to fade. AU. Non-mafia fic. Six-shot. No pairings.
1. Returning Home

Summary: Sawada Tsunayoshi and his family moved away from Namimori when he was just seven-years-old. When he returns to his hometown seven years later, the brunet finds that his childhood friends have fallen apart without him. In working to heal the scars his friends have gathered over the years, Tsuna finds that his own are also starting to fade. AU. Non-mafia fic. Six-shot. No pairings.

SkyGem: Hey guys! I'm finally on my 99th fic! I can't believe it! As I'm sure some of you may know by now, I've decided on a poll to help me choose what to do with my hundredth fic. Right now, I have 24 summaries (10 are KHR) posted on my blog. You guys have until Monday before I narrow it down to the top 12, so hurry up and vote! I'm also going to be posting up a plot dump soon for fics that I'm not going to be doing but would love to see others write. Further information can soon be found at: skygemspeaks(dot)wordpress(dot)com. Anyways, let's move on to the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own KHR.

* * *

"_Haha! You better not forget us, Tsuna!"_

"_You EXTREMELY have to keep in touch, Sawada!"_

"_I'll bite you to death next time I see you, herbivore, for making me crowd here."_

"_Kufufu. My sweet Chrome and I will be awaiting your return, Tsunayoshi."_

"_H-hai, I agree with Mukuro-san. W-we'll see you soon, Tsuna-kun."_

"_The great Lambo-sama demands for you to bring him a great present when you return to Namimori!"_

"_We'll wait for you forever, Tsuna-sama!"_

* * *

When Tsuna saw his childhood home for the first time in seven years, he finally let out a huge breath he hadn't known he'd been holding.

For the first time since he'd left, it felt as if a great weight had been lifted from the brunet's shoulders and a sweet smile graced his features.

Turning back to look at the car, his smile brightened and he shouted to his mom, "Okaa-san! Hurry up and open the door!"

His mom smiled exasperatedly at him and, leaving her husband to unload what luggage they hadn't sent ahead, she went up to their locked front door and opened it.

And it was with high spirits that Sawada Tsunayoshi stepped into his childhood home again, a rush of nostalgia descending upon him as he did so.

Stepping into the living room, he stood there motionlessly for a moment, looking around, before flying into action as he ripped all the white sheets off the furniture.

First sheet off, and he saw their soft brown couch. Second sheet off, and now he could see their television. On and on he went, pulling off all the sheets until their living room was finally devoid of them, showing a familiar scene he hadn't seen in years.

Smiling to himself, Tsuna turned and ran to his bedroom, where he was greeted with yet more white sheets and stacks of boxes with his things in them.

Quickly pulling off the white sheets, the brunet folded them before turning to unpack his things.

By the time night rolled around, the teen had already unpacked most of his possessions and all during dinner, he chattered happily about how excited he was about starting school the next day.

Iemitsu and Nana just listened quietly, relieved little smiles just barely visible on their faces as they watched their son; they'd done the right thing by bringing him back.

* * *

Tsuna's second day back in Namimori would be his first day of school.

Most kids would wait a few days before starting school, but Tsuna couldn't wait; he couldn't wait to see his friends again.

It had been hard enough to ignore the temptation to ditch his unpacking the day before; now it took his all to not go running out of the house before properly getting ready for the day.

The brunet took one last look in the mirror, about to go downstairs for breakfast, when he noticed that his watch wasn't in its place on his left wrist.

His eyebrows furrowing a little, the fourteen-year-old searched around for it, carefully refraining from looking at his wrist, not wanting to see the jagged scar that marred the milky skin. When he finally found the watch, sitting innocently on his bedside table, he quickly put it on, feeling more relaxed when he felt the familiar weight on his wrist, hiding the blemish from view.

And then, without a second look back at the mirror, he turned and ran down the stairs.

Quickly scarfing down his breakfast, Tsuna left his house, shouting, "Ittekimasu!" behind him.

* * *

It was right after the sensei had done roll when it happened.

Yamamoto Takeshi was sitting at his desk with an almost distant expression on his face, as was usual, when his sensei smiled at them and said, "We'll be having a transfer student joining us from today onwards."

At first, the words didn't register in Takeshi's mind. Why should he care about some transfer student?

He was about ready to go back to daydreaming when the teacher looked towards the door, telling someone that they could come in. When the person stepped in, one glance was all it took for Takeshi's focus to be completely on him.

This boy had soft, disheveled brown hair, beautiful brown eyes, and the sweetest smile on his face; his cheeks still had some baby fat left, and his eyes were wide and innocent.

Immediately, Takeshi recognized him.

And before he even knew what he was doing, Takeshi got up out of his seat, calling, "Tsuna!"

The brunet turned to look at him in surprise, and Takeshi could see on his face the exact moment he recognized him, because Tsuna's expression became just that much sweeter.

"Takeshi!" he called, launching himself at his best friend. "I can't believe we're in the same class! I missed you so much!"

"We missed you too!" replied Takeshi, his arms protectively wrapped around the smaller brunet for just a moment more before he let go.

Tsuna's excitement, for some odd reason, seemed to drop a little at his words, and it looked as if he were about to say something, but the sensei interrupted them at that time.

"Sawada-san, do you know Yamamoto-kun?"

"We don't only know each other!" said Takeshi, his voice proud, "We're the best of friends! We used to play together all the time when we were younger!"

"I see; well, that's convenient, then, that the table right beside Yamamoto-kun's is free," replied the teacher chirpily. "Why don't you sit beside him, Sawada-kun?"

Tsuna nodded without complaint and took the empty seat, immediately taking out a notebook and a pencil.

As Takeshi sat down as well, he watched out of the corner of his eye as Tsuna quickly scribbled something down on a piece of paper before quickly passing it over to Takeshi.

Takeshi read the note, curious as to what his friend had written, and when he saw the words, he had to fight the urge to let out an exasperated sigh.

_What's happened to your smile, Takeshi? You may be able to fool others, but even after so many years, I can tell something's wrong. Your smile has become so dull, Takeshi._

Takeshi had forgotten just how observant Tsuna was. They'd only just met again, and already, it seemed as if Tsuna had seen right through him; as if, even after all these years, the brunet still knew him like the back of his hand.

_I'll tell you later,_ Takeshi wrote back, knowing that he shouldn't even try to keep anything from his friend.

This reply seemed to satisfy Tsuna, and the brunet gave a small nod before turning back to the board to pay attention.

Takeshi, though, was paying even less attention than he usually did, and that was really saying something.

The teen had never in his wildest dreams expected that Tsuna would just turn up one day as a transfer student in his class. It really was too bad that Lambo and Hayato weren't in the class right now; although, he supposed it **was** their fault for skipping all the time.

And then, almost as if his thoughts had summoned the other teen, the door opened, and a young, curly-haired fourteen-year-old stepped into the room, a lazy smile on his face.

"Bovino-kun!" the sensei all but growled, "How many times have I told you not to come to class this late? Either come to school on time, or don't bother coming at all!"

Lambo just snorted, ignoring the teacher in favour of striding lazily over to his seat, as if he owned the place.

Too bad for the black-haired teen, though, Tsuna didn't seem to appreciate his behaviour.

"You should show more respect to your elders, Lambo," said Tsuna in a warning tone, and Takeshi watched in mild amusement as the curly haired teen's head snapped around to look at the brunet.

"…Tsuna?"

* * *

SkyGem: Well, that's chapter one for now! Did you guys like? Please do leave a review and tell me what you thought! Anyways, I'm not really sure why it turned out this way, but don't you guys think my writing style in this chapter has changed a bit? Maybe it's the plot or something, but something about it seems…off. Good or bad? Please let me know! Oh, and don't forget to vote! Remember, the site address is that the beginning of this chapter, and you don't have to have an account to vote! Well, that's all for now! I'll update Summer to Remember next time! Ciao!


	2. What Happened to Them

"…Tsuna!"

Despite being annoyed at his friend for his behaviour, Tsuna couldn't help the amused smile that crossed his face when he saw Lambo's expression.

"Hey, Lambo. Miss me?" he asked, holding his arms out for a hug.

The rest of the class looked at him incredulously; did he really expect "the great Lambo-sama" to show _affection_ to him? The narcissistic kid with an odd fixation on cows? Like that would ever happen!

"TSUNA!"

Okay, scratch that. Looks like the kid did know how to show affection…and a lot of it.

Upon properly processing the fact that Tsuna was really here many times in his brain to make sure that he wasn't hallucinating, dreaming, etc., Lambo had done the only thing he could think of. The spoiled teen threw himself at Tsuna, wrapping his arms around him in a bone-crushing hug.

"Wah! Tsuna! I missed you so much!" whined the boy, crying dramatically into his friend's shoulder.

Tsuna patted his curly hair comfortingly, saying, "I missed you too, Lambo- kun."

When the boy let go, Tsuna got him to take a step back and looked at him appraisingly. "You've grown a lot, Lambo-kun," he said kindly, and Lambo's face lit up like a Christmas tree, shocking their classmates. This reunion reminded them strangely of a younger brother seeing his beloved aniki again after many years.

"Hehe, haven't I become really handsome?" asked the boy, a cheeky grin on his face.

"Very," agreed Tsuna with a mock serious expression on his face. Soon, though, his expression morphed into an almost scarily sweet smile and he asked in a deceptively kind voice, "So, Lambo, can you tell me why you're coming to school so late?"

Now normally, the teacher would have interrupted by now, but he was quite enjoying seeing the arrogant Bovino being scolded and actually looking guilty for once. And hey, if it meant that the boy would stop skipping, then he was willing to do anything.

Upon hearing this question, Lambo's expression became sheepish and he ducked his head, saying, "Umm…I-I…"

"Hai?" asked Tsuna, that sweet smile still on his face.

Takeshi, taking pity on the boy, finally intervened, saying with a laugh, "Oh, come on, Tsuna-kun, just let him off the hook this time; I'm sure he'll stop skipping if you tell him to. Isn't that right, Lala-chan?"

In any other situation, Lambo would have smacked the cheerful baseball player on the head for using that hated nickname, but now, he was just grateful for the help.

"Hai, hai! Take-kun is right! Please forgive me, Tuna! I promise I'll stop skipping!"

Tsuna sighed; really, with Lambo looking at him with the expression of a kicked puppy, how was he supposed to say no to a face like that?

"Fine," he said, "…for now."

Lambo's face immediately brightened up and he threw his arms around his friend's neck again.

As this exchange occurred, their classmates had turned practically to stone.

Lala-chan and Take-kun? Since when had those two been that close? In fact…no one remembered them so much as exchanging a word in all the two months they'd been in the same class, and those that'd known them longer hadn't seen them interact before that, either.

Who was this Tsuna, and how had he brought these two seeming opposites together like this?

What was going to happen next? Was the delinquent known as Gokudera Hayato going to waltz in here and giggle and blush upon seeing the new transfer student?

* * *

After that one incident when Lambo had entered the room, the rest of the morning went by rather quietly and uneventfully, but even by the time the bell rang for lunch, people were still throwing strange looks at Tsuna, Takeshi, and Lambo.

When the class had been dismissed, Tsuna and Takeshi remained in their seats, and Lambo sauntered over to sit in the seat in front of the Tuna.

The sensei, who was rather impressed at how the transfer student had gotten Bovino to behave, went over to thank the boy, who waved off his thanks with a "no problem."

Before he left, though, the sensei laughed and said, "Now if only someone could get that delinquent Gokudera to stop skipping, everything would be perfect."

"Eh?" Tsuna asked of his friends as the sensei walked away, his eyes widening. "Gokudera? Was he…was he talking about Hayato?He's in this class too?"

By now, about half the class had already left the room, but the remaining students turned to stare with wide eyes at Tsuna when the brunet said this. So he really did know Gokudera?

"Hai!" answered Takeshi.

Tsuna's face immediately brightened. "Really?" he asked, "Where is he? Why isn't he here?"

Lambo and Takeshi exchanged questioning glances before they both shrugged.

"Dunno," said Takeshi.

"Probably skipping," added Lambo.

Tsuna's brows furrowed with disapproval when he heard this and he brought out his phone, telling his friends, "Someone give me his number. I'll call and tell him to come to school.

When all he got in reply was silence, Tsuna looked up at his friends, asking, "Well?"

"Ah," said Lambo, fidgeting uncomfortably. "We kind of…don't have his number."

There was a beat of silence before Tsuna asked, "What? What do you mean that you don't have his number? How can you guys not have his number?"

Takeshi averted his gaze, mumbling something under his breath.

"What was that, Takeshi?" asked Tsuna patiently.

Takeshi reluctantly dragged his gaze back to Tsuna, looking at him with sad eyes. "A lot can change in seven years, Tsuna…"

"W-what do you mean?" asked Tsuna, getting a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

This time, it was Lambo who answered.

"Tsuna…today was the first time that I really talked to Takeshi in years…"

"For a long time now," said Takeshi, "our group of friends, we've become complete strangers to each other."

Tsuna stared in complete horror at the two that were sitting in front of him. He hadn't noticed it before, but now that he knew the situation, it was hard not to miss Lambo and Takeshi's hesitance around each other, how that sense of familiarity that they'd all used to share had dimmed so much. It was almost as if Tsuna hadn't been the only one that was away these past years.

"H-how?" he asked them, "How could you guys let this happen?"

Neither boy would look at him, and finally, Tsuna's eyes landed on the younger of the two.

"Lambo?" he prodded gently, and the cow boy flinched. "Lambo, when did you start coming to class late?" he asked; that definitely had something to do with it. The Lambo he'd known had always been extremely punctual, almost annoyingly so. Something big must have happened for him to change like this.

The younger boy looked up at him with eyes that Tsuna was shocked to find were shining with tears.

"N-not long after you left," he began, "Takeshi started acting distant for some reason. Around the time he was supposed to go visit his mom in Kyushu. Hayato and me, we tried to find out what was wrong, but he wouldn't tell us. He would just smile and say that everything was okay. And then after that, Hayato started to miss school. He stopped talking to me and Takeshi and the others, and started hanging out with other people, with dangerous people. I-I couldn't stand it anymore. With Hayato gone and Takeshi acting the way he was, I was so lonely. I didn't want to be around Takeshi if he was just going to treat me like a stranger. So I started looking for places to hang out, places where I could be alone. Before I knew it, I was coming to class later and later."

"Oh, Lambo," sighed Tsuna, gathering the younger boy into a hug.

Lambo stiffened for a moment before relaxing into the embrace, his shoulders shaking as he let out soft sobs, letting the tears falling, letting them wash out all the loneliness that had plaguing the boy for the past years.

When Lambo's sobbing had relaxed, Tsuna turned to look at Takeshi, still not letting go of Lambo, who seemed content to just sit there with his head on Tsuna's shoulder, the older boy's arms wrapped around him.

"And what about you?" asked Tsuna, staring levelly at his other friend, who wouldn't meet his gaze. "What were you hiding from them?"

Takeshi's head jerked up, ready to deny that he was hiding anything, but stopped short upon seeing the expression on Tsuna's face.

Letting out a small sigh, the boy looked back down at his shoes, squeezing his eyes shut and finally telling his friends about the disaster that had befallen him not long after his best friend had moved away.

"A few days before I was supposed to go see my mom, I found out that she'd…that she'd died."

* * *

SkyGem: Well, the plot is starting to get a lot thicker. And as for those who still don't get it, in this fic, Takeshi's parents were separated. Anyways, I probably should've warned you guys before, but to let you know, this fic will be pretty dark, compared to some of my others. You'll see what I mean in later chapters. Anyways, for now, just please do leave a review and let me know what you thought, ne? The next chapter of "Nothing More" is almost done, so I'll be posting that later as well. Anyways, that's all for now! Ciao!


	3. Won't Drag Him Down

"A few days before I was supposed to go see my mom, I found out that she'd…that she'd died."

Tsuna and Lambo stared at him with wide, disbelieving eyes before Lambo pushed his chair back with a screech, getting up and demanding angrily, "What the hell, Takeshi? Why didn't you tell us something this important?"

"I-I didn't want to worry you," said the boy, looking down into his lap.

There was an exasperated sigh from Tsuna as the aforementioned boy rolled his eyes, saying, "Takeshi, that's what friends are _supposed _to do. Friends are supposed to worry about you and support you in your toughest times."

Takeshi continued looking down at his feet, not able to say anything.

The next second, though, his eyes flew upwards as he felt two pairs of arms wrap around him.

"Baka," Lambo said under his breath, and Takeshi couldn't help but let out a small, watery chuckle, which soon turned into a strained sob.

The other students that had stayed behind to watch the scene play out suddenly turned tail and fled when Lambo turned a fierce glare on them, and before long, the three of them were the only ones in the room.

Tsuna and Lambo comforted Takeshi as the cheerful teen finally let out all of the pent up grief and frustration and loneliness from the past years.

By the time he finally quieted down, maybe ten minutes had passed, and Tsuna's shirt was completely soaked with tears.

"Ahaha, gomen, Tsuna," sniffed Takeshi when he was finally able to get some words out, but his apology was waved aside by Tsuna.

"It'll dry," said the boy dismissively before reaching into his bag and pulling his lunch out and asking, "Now, why don't we eat, ne? I'm starving!"

And then, almost as if to agree with him, Takeshi's stomach growled, making the aforementioned boy laugh.

As the trio began eating, Lambo looked over at the baseball player of their group and asked, "Are you feeling better now, Takeshi?"

Takeshi sniffed once before nodding, smiling widely. "Much," he told them.

"And you'll never hide something like this from us again, right?" asked Tsuna in a warning voice, to which Takeshi replied with a laugh and a nod of the head.

And like that, the three of them passed the rest of lunch talking about random things, with Tsuna deciding that they would go to Hayato's house after school because hopefully, he hadn't moved since the last time any of them had last been to his place.

* * *

The moment the dismissal bell for the end of class rang, Tsuna, Takeshi, and Lambo ran out with a single focus in mind: find Hayato.

The whole way to the apartment, Tsuna was chattering about how excited he was to see the boy again, but Lambo and Takeshi remained strangely quiet.

Their unusual silence confused Tsuna, and it was only when they got there that Tsuna found out why.

When they arrived at the door of the apartment, Tsuna was relieved to see that the "Gokudera" nameplate was still there, announcing the name of the family that took up residence there.

And so, with barely contained excitement, he knocked on the door of his friend's home.

A few seconds ticked past, and still there was no answer, but the brunet waited patiently.

The seconds turned to minutes, and still the three teens waited.

When finally five minutes had passed, Lambo lost his patience and began pounding on the door, shouting, "Hurry the hell up and open the door, you stupid squid head! Lambo-sama, Takeshi, and Tsuna are here to see you!"

The cow-obsessed teen hoped that saying Tsuna's name would prompt the teen inside the apartment –because Hayato was most definitely in there – to answer the freaking door, and he was right.

The next moment, the door was thrown open to reveal a surprised-looking Hayato standing there, shock written all over his face as his eyes travelled over the three of them, finally coming to rest on Tsuna, lingering on the brunet for a few moments longer than the others.

"Hey, Hayato!" shouted Tsuna, throwing his arms around his much taller best friend.

Hayato, meanwhile, just stood there, frozen, and when he _was_ finally able to move, it wasn't to return the hug.

No.

After a few seconds of doing a very good impersonation of a statue, he brought his arms up and pulled Tsuna's arms off of him before pushing the poor boy away.

Tsuna, not expecting his friend's actions, stumbled backwards and fell on his butt before staring up, wide-eyed, at the one who had pushed him. "Hayato?" he asked in a confused voice.

Hayato, his expression hard, asked in a harsh voice, "Just who the hell do you think you are, coming here to my home out of the blue and hugging me as if you have the right? Get lost, all of you!"

And with that one sentence, the grouchy teen turned and slammed the door behind him, the silence afterwards being broken only by the sound of the locks clicking into place.

For quite a while after the confrontation, the three teens stayed, frozen, where they were, staring at the door, completely shocked at what had just happened.

Looking up at his two friends with eyes wide with confusion and hurt, Tsuna asked them, "W-why did he say that? Did…did I do something wrong?"

His two friends continued to stare confusedly for just a few seconds before Takeshi snapped out of it, and quickly bent down to help his friend up.

"It's not your fault, Tsuna," he told the younger brunet in a gentle voice. "Even I had no idea he would do that."

Lambo nodded vehemently at this, saying, "Even with the current situation, I never dreamed Hayato could ever treat Tsuna like that…"

"The current situation?" asked Tsuna, immediately latching onto the other teen's words. "What's the current situation?"

"S-squid head, h-he joined…he joined the yakuza."

* * *

Unbeknownst to the three outside the apartment, there was one person who seemed to be having an emotional breakdown.

When he had heard the knocking, Hayato had ignored it, thinking that the person would just go away eventually.

When he had heard that stupid nickname, he'd been utterly surprised and a part of him had been irritated, because he hated it whenever he was called that.

When the idiot cow had uttered Tsuna's name, he had very nearly gone into shock.

And when he had thrown open the door and Tsuna had hugged him, he really _had_ gone into shock for a few moments.

What was Tsuna doing in Nami-chuu?

He was supposed to be in Tokyo!

He shouldn't be here!

Tsuna shouldn't be at his house!

It was dangerous!

What if someone from the Momokyokai saw him?

Just because Hayato had had to join them, it didn't mean that he would drag his best friend down with him.

And so, mustering up all his will, he ripped Tsuna's arms off of him and pushed the little brunet to the ground, praying to god that he hadn't gotten hurt.

Ignoring the hurt expression in Tsuna's chocolate brown eyes, Hayato spat out the words that felt like acid in his mouth and slammed the door in his friends' shocked faces.

After sliding the locks into place, Hayato slid to the floor, his body wracking with silent sobs.

* * *

SkyGem: Well, chapter three done and over. Hope you guys liked, ne? Please r&r and tell me what you thought, and I'll see you guys next chapter! Ciao!

P.S. Wondering about all the updates today? Well, truth is, I'm going to British Columbia this Monday for a two week summer camp, so I'll have to go on hiatus during that time! So until I leave, I'm gonna update as much as I can. If you guys want more information about what's going on, as usual, that info can be found on my blog (link's on my profile)! Go check it out, ne?


	4. About Time

"Hayato joined the yakuza?" asked Tsuna, his eyes wide with shock at what he had just heard.

Takeshi nodded hesitantly.

"But…why would he do that…?"

Lambo just shrugged. "Who knows?" asked the teen, "He just sort of fell in with a bad crowd, and then he stopped talking to us."

Tsuna seemed to be in shock upon hearing this, and Takeshi led him gently away. Even though their group had always been extremely close, Tsuna had always had a special bond with Hayato, and Takeshi could imagine how much it must hurt the brunet to be treated that way by him.

Tsuna was rather quiet until the group of three arrived at the lobby, at which point he looked up at Takeshi with pleading eyes.

"We'll come back, right? We'll talk to Hayato and find out what's wrong, and then we can all be friends again, right?"

Smiling reassuringly at his friend, Takeshi threw an arm around him, saying, "Of course we will! We'll come back and visit Hayato tomorrow, alright?"

Tsuna's worried expression relaxed into a small smile, and he nodded in affirmation.

The three teens were just about to leave the building then, but were interrupted by a woman claiming their attention.

"Excuse me?" they heard someone say and they all turned to see a middle-aged woman standing there. "Would you three happen to be friends of Gokudera Hayato-kun?"

"Yes…?" answered Lambo, just as confused as his two friends.

The woman beamed brightly at them when she heard the answer.

"Oh, that's wonderful that he's finally found such respectable looking friends as you! He's such a good boy, taking such good care of his mother as he does. I don't know why he would hang out with the delinquents I usually see him with."

Tsuna's eyebrows drew together in confusion when he heard this, and he asked, "His mother?"

"Oh, didn't you know?" asked the woman, "Poor Gokudera Lavina-san. Her husband left her when he found out she was ill and would need a heart transplant. And, of course, seeing as she herself didn't have a job, it looked as if there wouldn't be any money for her operation, either. But her son has been working hard to raise the money, and he still finds the time to visit her every day. The poor boy doesn't even come home until past midnight on most days."

With every word the woman spoke, Tsuna felt as he was being repeatedly stabbed in the chest.

Clutching onto Takeshi's arm, he closed his eyes, trying to hold the tears back.

Vaguely, the brunet heard his friends thanking the lady for the information and excusing themselves, and before long, he was being led out of the building.

"Takeshi," Tsuna said in a voice just above a whisper, "We need to help Hayato-kun."

"Of course," was Takeshi's reply as they kept walking.

"He probably feels so helpless and alone; I bet he's crying by himself right now. His heart is too gentle for him to be in the yakuza."

Takeshi nodded, saying, "He may be prickly on the outside, but he would never willingly harm an innocent."

"We really need to help him," said Tsuna.

"And that's what we're going to do right now."

Lambo, who had been quiet until now, and who had been wondering just where Takeshi was leading them, suddenly stopped, his eyes wide.

"Wait a second!" he exclaimed, his expression panicked, "Don't tell me we're going to _him_!"

Both his friends stopped to look at him, Tsuna's expression one of confusion, Takeshi's of determination.

"Of course we are," said the baseball fanatic. "He's the only one we can go to in a situation like this."

"You're _crazy_!" exclaimed Lambo, not moving from where he had stopped. "What would make you think that _he_'d ever want to help us?"

Takeshi rolled his eyes at his overdramatic friend. "Oh, I don't know, maybe because he was a really close friend of ours, once upon a time?" said Takeshi in an overly patient voice.

"Yeah, _once upon a time_," repeated Lambo, "As in, he isn't anymore! He'll probably bite us to death for bothering him and wasting his precious time!"

Takeshi rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Just because he beats you up every day for being late does not mean he's unreasonable."

"Friends don't beat friends up!" argued Lambo, a pout growing on his face.

Takeshi arched an elegant eyebrow. "You know he's not the type to show favouritism. It's all your fault for always breaking the rules."

Lambo looked away as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Whatever," said the curly-haired boy sulkily. "If Hibari-sempai beats me up for this, I'm blaming you."

* * *

To say that Kyoya was surprised would be an understatement.

The prefect had been just about to leave for his evening patrol of the town when the doorbell had rung, announcing visitors.

Visitors were a rare occurrence at the Hibari residence, so that in itself had been surprising enough.

The people at the door, however, had been even more surprising.

Now, faced with an idiotically grinning Takeshi, a sulky Lambo, and a shy Tsunayoshi, the skylark was rendered speechless for a few moments.

Then, gathering his wits about him, Kyoya stepped aside, inviting them in.

Takeshi and Tsuna walked in without hesitation, announcing politely, "Ojamashimasu!"

Lambo, though, hesitated to step over the threshold.

Rolling his eyes, Kyoya pulled the boy inside, telling him in an undertone, "About time you realized you don't need to break the rules just to talk to me."

Lambo looked up at him with wide, surprised eyes, and Kyoya snorted in exasperation, ruffling the boy's hair for a quick second before turning and following their other two friends into the living room.

There was a moment more of silence before Kyoya heard footsteps following him, and saw Lambo fall into step beside him out of the corner of his eye, the younger male looking at his feet, seeming fidgety.

Turning his attention to the other two, who had already made themselves comfortable on the sofas in the living room, Kyoya took a seat facing the two of them, and Lambo hurried to squeeze himself in between the two, earning an exasperated but fond smile from Takeshi.

"Welcome back to Namimori, Tsunayoshi," Kyoya greeted the younger boy, who smiled widely at him.

"Arigatou, Kyoya-nii. You have no idea how happy I am to be back."

Kyoya, smiling faintly, said, "I can imagine."

There were a few moments of slightly awkward silence after that, before Takeshi decided to take control of the situation, saying, "So, Kyoya-nii, other than having a totally awesome sleepover to catch up with each other, there's one more reason why we're here to see you."

The fact that they would be sleeping over was news to Tsuna and Lambo, but neither had any objections to the idea, so they just decided to keep silent, letting expectant smiles stretch over their faces.

Kyoya was taken aback for a few seconds at the very impromptu plans, before accepting them with a nod of the head and asking, "And just what is this other reason?"

Deciding that being blunt would be the best way to handle this situation, Takeshi outright told his friend, "Takeshi joined the yakuza in order to help pay aunt Lavina's hospital bills for a heart transplant."

Kyoya was silent for a few moments after having heard this before cursing his friend's stupid stubbornness under his breath and standing up.

Taking his cell phone out, the skylark looked over at his friends, saying, "Call your parents and let them know where you'll be tonight. If you want to take a shower, you know where everything is. Everything will be sorted out before long, and that idiot will be here with us by dinner time."

And before he even had time to blink, Kyoya had found himself tackled to the floor by Tsuna, who was clutching him tightly around the torso, and who had his head buried in his chest.

"Arigatou, Kyoya-nii," said the boy in a muffled voice, and Kyoya let out an exasperated sigh before returning the hug for the briefest of moments.

"If you want me to bring that stubborn idiot over any time soon, then you better get off me now, little herbivore."

* * *

"Is there something wrong, Tsuyoshi-san? You keep looking at the clock."

Yamamoto Tsuyoshi looked over at the person who had asked him this, and saw that it was Takarada-san, one of his regular customers.

Letting a slightly forced smile grace his features, Tsuyoshi told the man, "I'm just wondering where Takeshi could be. That boy should have been home hours ago, and he hasn't even called yet to tell me where he is."

Takarada just let out a hearty laugh, saying, "No need to be so overprotective, Tsuyoshi-san! Takeshi-kun is a teenager now! He can take care of himself! He probably just went out with some friends and forgot to call you.

"Probably," agreed Tsuyoshi, not entirely convinced; despite being one of the most popular students in his year, Takeshi had been somewhat of a loner since he had stopped hanging out with his little gang of misfits all those years ago.

Tsuyoshi often wondered what had happened to the tight-knit little group of friends that his little Takeshi had used to be a part of, and had found himself wishing more than once that, by some miracle, they would come together once again.

Little did the sushi chef know, the answer to his prayers would finally come to him today.

Takarada looked as if he would try and reassure the eldest Yamamoto that his son was okay again when the phone by the register rang, and Tsuyoshi hurried to pick it up.

"Moshi moshi?" said Tsuyoshi, and when he heard a familiar, sheepish laugh from the other side, he found himself relaxing.

"_Hey, otou-san. Sorry for taking so long to call. I hope you weren't too worried?"_

Rolling his eyes, Tsuyoshi retorted, "Of course I was worried, you little brat! Where the hell are you?"

His son laughed once more before saying, _"I'm over at Kyoya-nii's house right now."_

"At…Kyoya-kun's house?" asked Tsuyoshi, surprised evident in his voice. "You mean _Hibari_ Kyoya-kun?"

"_That's right!"_ said Takeshi in a cheerful voice. _"Is it alright for me to sleep over for the night?"_

Tsuyoshi, still more than a little shocked, replied, "Of course! Is it just you or…?"

Seeming to understand his unfinished question, Takeshi replied in the negative, saying,_ "Nope! Lambo-kun, Hayato, and Tsuna are going to be staying over as well!"_

Tsuyoshi stood there in stunned silence for a few more moments before asking in a shell-shocked voice, "Tsunayoshi-kun?"

"_That's right! He and his family moved back yesterday! Can you believe it?"_

Tsuyoshi couldn't help but feel as if a miracle had just occurred.

There was something special about that young Sawada boy, to be able to bring back together all these virtual strangers who had once been such good friends.

Tsuyoshi would have to remember to thank the boy's parents the next time he saw them. Thanks to their decision to move back, his son was now the happiest he had seen him in years.

"That's great, Takeshi," he told his son, "Tell Tsunayoshi-kun hello for me, yes? And make sure you don't cause too much trouble for Kyoya-kun!"

"Of course I won't cause trouble, dad!" replied Takeshi with a laugh. "Anyways, I'll see you tomorrow! Ja ne!"

* * *

Hayato had just finished his dinner, and was about to retire for the night, when, for the second time that day, there was an unexpected knock at the door.

Heaving himself up, he moved to open it.

The knocking grew more insistent, and Hayato pulled it open with a disgruntled glare, asking, "What the hell do you-"

His rude exclamation was stopped mid-sentence when he saw just who was standing at the door.

"H-Hibari-sempai!" he exclaimed in shock. "What are you doing here?"

* * *

SkyGem: So, what did you think? Like this chapter? Hate it? Please do leave a review and let me know what you thought! Ciao!


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